<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Elephant in the Room by sunsetrose20</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257717">The Elephant in the Room</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetrose20/pseuds/sunsetrose20'>sunsetrose20</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Attempt at Humor, Epic Fail, Feels, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:54:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,314</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257717</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetrose20/pseuds/sunsetrose20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When someone takes things too literally.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Loki/Thor (Marvel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Elephant in the Room</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thoughts, ideas, comments, and constructive criticism are always welcome.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Loki!” Thor shouted as the front door of his brother's apartment banged open with the force he had applied. A curious neighbor came out into the hallway to see what was happening, which meant Thor was irate enough to warrant worry if he was attracting unwanted attention. Something, of course, that his pesky little brother would ignore in favor of focusing on Thor's mistreating his apartment.</p><p>He could see it clearly. Loki's frown as he came out of wherever he was hiding just to ask Thor, "Must you really come blundering into every place you enter? The apartment is new, you know."</p><p>"New "because he had only been living there for a year.</p><p>But, focusing back on the matter at hand, as long as Thor was concerned, the fact that his brother had not come out to greet him and reproach the banging of the front door was more than proof of his guiltiness. Who else but Loki? The evidence was beyond incriminating.</p><p>He had known that his brother wanted the Avengers to be clear on the nature of their relationship. He knew his brother was jealous of the attention he gave to the human astrophysicist. But he had thought he had made it clear to his brother that he was not encouraging the woman's advances. Just like he had explained that no, he was not encouraging the Avengers to be his matchmakers. They were, however, all too willing to ignore the fact that he was indeed taken.</p><p>The brothers had been having a fling going on between them for most of their life now, but it was something they kept calling on and off. Right then, Loki was jealous, merely cautious if one asked him, but Thor had been able to understand for a while now that that feeling was simply part of his brother's nature.</p><p>His brother had gone a step too far in his opinion.</p><p>What happened was this: the Avengers had been battling the villain of the week and were, Thor admitted with a little bit of shame, not having much of a success. Their foe had been persistent, he would give him credit for that, and so they kept having to backtrack here and there. The battle should not have taken them so long to get over with, but it did.</p><p>He could not have foreseen the time and date of their opponents attack. Therefore, there was no way he could have known he would not be able to attend his date with his brother due to being otherwise occupied in battle. So it was understandable, reasonable even, when Loki appeared in full battle regalia and took care of their enemy for them.</p><p>Thor had been ecstatic to fight on the same side as his brother, even if it was just for a little while. So when Loki arrived, Thor ran straight to him in order to properly fight side by side. His teammates, he was later informed, expected him to attempt to try and contain Loki. The idea had seemed preposterous to Thor when he was presented with it. Why would he do such a thing if his brother was not being an active nuisance?</p><p>The Avengers had thought Loki was there to aid their opponent, which Thor decided to take as a personal insult. "My brother would never associate himself with such a lowly creature," he had argued with vehemence. It was true; Loki wouldn't.</p><p>Then came the questions of why he would help them to which Thor answered, "I told you! We had a date!" Next came the disbelief and the willingness to ignore his romantic relationship with his brother that would, most often than not, close the topic.</p><p>Thor had not actually seen his brother, but he was sure he was still hanging around, waiting for him. So it was not that much of a shock, albeit still highly surprising, when a distressed elephant came running straight at the lot of them. So once again, who else but Loki?</p><p>He knew all and any chances of catching his brother at the crime scene were gone once the screaming started. Pedestrians had thought it was safe to come out of their hiding places the moment the original perpetrator was being apprehended. And how wrong they had been. Now all they had to worry about was a rampaging elephant stomping his giant feet all over the place while making distressed sounds that coincidentally only seemed to further distress the Midgardians.</p><p>Any hopeful thoughts he had previously had of still being able to spend a lovely evening with his beloved had been swiftly extinguished after that.</p><p>Which brings us back to the beginning of our story.</p><p>Thor came barging into the apartment his brother had been using as a living space since he had stopped his evil plans in favor of more or less harmless pranks, ever since he and Thor came back together. Loki still had not come to him, but for whatever inexplicable reason, Thor knew he was there, even though the apartment was deadly silent.</p><p>“Loki!" he again yelled after banging the bedroom door open as he did the front one. The little shit was just sitting in a chair he kept in the bedroom, reading a book without a care in the world. Completely ignoring Thor. <em>Oh no, you don't</em>, thought Thor as he stormed towards his brother.</p><p>“What is wrong with you?” he asked, “Have you any idea how long it took me to clean up your mess?”</p><p>“Funny of you to say that,” his brother answered with a chuckle. “I can certainly remember the last time those words were spoken between us.” Thor, not willing to revisit the wedding incident, just stared at him. “Oh, come off it,” was added with a wave of his delicate hand. “I don't even know what you speak of.”</p><p>“You know perfectly well what I speak of. You set an elephant loose around defenseless bystanders!”</p><p>“For what it may be worth,” said his brother after finally meeting Thor's furious gaze, “It was not supposed to attack the Midgardians.” Thor placed his hands on his brother's shoulders and was pleased to feel Loki tense up. Loki gave a huff. “I'm sorry, alright? Is that what you want to hear?”</p><p>“People got hurt, Loki!”</p><p>“And what about me? Do I not get hurt every time one of your companions refuses to acknowledge our relationship?” His brother turned his face away from him, lowering his gaze to the floor, and exposing his neck. As if waiting to be hit.</p><p>Thor growled and retreated, running his hands through his hair. “You are the <em>most</em> infuriating creature in existence.”</p><p>Loki looked at him again, and extended his hand. Thor took it. It looked so fragile when enveloped in his own. Like just a too strong grip might break one of those long, bony fingers. It was a stark contrast to his calloused hands.</p><p>He gave a small tug and his brother set his book aside in order to stand, falling in place in Thor's open arms. Thor slipped one arm around his waist while his hand went up to stroke his hair, planting a kiss to his brother's forehead as he hugged him closer.</p><p>“I'm serious.” His brother moved to get closer to the bed, giving his back to it. “It hurts when they ignore it, ignore <em>me</em>. You don't need them to find you another lover.”</p><p>“I know, my Älskling. I know,” he murmured as he fell on top of his brother on the bed. Loki squirmed a bit underneath him, only making him feel even more fragile in Thor's hands.</p><p>“I'm sorry.” Thor kissed his brother, hoping it would convey the love he felt for him.“I promise to make them understand. You'll see.” And with those words, Thor set on the task of kissing away his brother's pain.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>